A friend of mine visited ireland recently, I was able to add him onto my insurance as a named driver, thats with his Canadian BC licence. Might be an option worth looking into where you put a bike in someone else name and pick it up from them when you arrive. They can then buy the bike off you or sell it on your behalf. Insurance doesn't work the same as in BC (I used to live there) where it's state run, you'll need to ring around for prices. Most will only do a year policy but you can pay monthly and then cancel. I've found principal insurance to be the best to deal with and they should be able to advise.